JOHN TWIGG -- There has been lots of speculation about what may happen but I won't add to it here

John Twigg, at the BC Legislature

What's with this weather, eh? Here we are well into May and it's still cold and wet outside (well perhaps where John is, but not here in Kamloops – Alan F), still not conducive to transplanting tomatoes into outdoor gardens.

 

One benefit of the cold weather - which has been felt all around the northern hemisphere - has been a reduction in rhetoric about the supposed dangers of supposedly human-caused global warming and instead the focus of world news has shifted to a much more real problem that IS human caused and that of course is the #COVID19 pandemic, which I'll say more about later.

 

If you need or want some hard evidence that human-caused global warming is not happening, take a look at Fort McMurray, the home of a the so-called tar sands, which is a huge center of mining and refining bitumen into synthetic crude oil: it just had to be evacuated by some 13,000 residents because of floodwaters backing up behind a 25-miles-long ice jam in the large and wide Peace River!

 

Global warming?? Nope.

 

In fact the whole northern hemisphere has had an unusually cold winter caused by natural factors, mainly the distance of the planet from the sun (which varies), the tilt of the planet (also variable, with the north now "away") and especially a relative lull in the size, number and direction of flares from the sun, which also can vary widely (and may be controlled only by God). [And shortly after I typed that line Campbell River (where I'm writing from) got hit by a hail storm!]

 

So B.C. and many other jurisdictions have just come through a cold winter, which can have some benefits too such as increasing the winter-kill of garden pests and improving habitat for some animals and trees (not to mention boosting sales of B.C.'s oil, gas and coal), but the weather forecasts for B.C. suggest a late Spring will arrive by this weekend. None too soon, but not too late for some great food gardens this summer.

 

Meanwhile in B.C. politics heated on Wednesday when Premier John Horgan unveiled his government's plans to begin re-opening the provincial economy following the declarations of a state of emergency, first when B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on March 17 declared a provincial health emergency (triggered mainly by a corona virus outbreak at a seniors' long-term care facility in North Vancouver), and then a provincial state of emergency by Horgan on March 18, which enabled a massive intervention including shutdowns in commerce, schools and even shuttering the B.C. Legislature.

 

That seems a long time ago now and most of us are still here to talk about it and deal with it, which impacts in some respects have been surprisingly beneficial such as forcing some of us (myself included) to re-evaluate how we're allocating our time and energies in our lives (e.g. not spending too much time and money watching sports events on TV and washing down fried foods with a few beers, and instead spending time with loved ones or reading The Bible, especially prophecies!).

 

But Wednesday the Premier, along with Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, announced how and when the constraints will be eased and maybe phased out, whether schools will resume some classes in time for graduation ceremonies, when  dentists and other close personal services will be allowed to resume under precautions, and whether some tax and fiscal policies will be revised.

 

There has been lots of speculation about what may happen but I won't add to it here, short of saying that B.C. has some great opportunities to forge ahead with new policy directions in brave new ways. 

 

Instead I will advise those interested to watch for my analysis of it in a new issue of The Twigg Report, which is an old newsletter title I'm now reviving (probably as a weekly) along with this Daily Twigg title (probably five or six times a week, as a brief jaunty read featuring news of the day), and B.C. Politics Trendwatch, a premium monthly focused on how those foregoing matters are likely to play out in the next provincial election.  This could happen anytime now that we're about three years from the last election and there is a shaky minority coalition in the Legislative Assembly - with the Green Party's leadership contest in abeyance due to COVID19).

 

If you'd like to subscribe to any or all of these titles please let me know by email. They'll be distributed mainly by email but also may be posted on a site yet to be determined, but with immediate access initially limited to paying subscribers and then open access later.

 

Subscription costs?? Yet to be determined, but suggestions are welcome to john@johntwigg.com.

 

John Twigg ... is a long-time independent journalist and occasional partisan activist now based in Campbell River.